Who Should I Start? Hayden Hurst or Giovanni Ricci

Saturday, January 11, 3:09 PM

According to the team, Los Angeles Chargers tight end Hayden Hurst and rookie running back Kimani Vidal are both inactive for Saturday's playoff game against the Houston Texans. Both Hurst and Vidal were not on the injury report but will sit out during the opening game of the NFL playoffs. Hurst has appeared in only nine games this season and averaged a mere 1.4 targets per game. Fantasy managers should expect Will Dissly to operate as the clear TE1 on Saturday afternoon. With Vidal sitting out, fantasy managers should expect J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards to lead the backfield. Dobbins carries RB1 upside in this match, while Hurst should be viewed as a TE2.

Monday, February 3, 7:02 PM

The New England Patriots signed free-agent tight end Giovanni Ricci (knee) to a Reserve/Futures deal on Monday. Ricci was on the Cleveland Browns' practice squad in 2024 but never was active for a regular-season game and was cut in August due to a knee injury. The 28-year-old former undrafted free agent out of Western Michigan made his NFL debut in 2021 with the Carolina Panthers, with all 36 of his career games coming with Carolina. In three NFL seasons, Ricci has caught only nine of 12 targets for 102 yards and no touchdowns with the Panthers. Ricci is more of a blocker than a pass-catcher and will now represent tight end depth for the Patriots throughout the offseason and into training camp this summer. The most likely scenario is that he'll effective serve as a fullback for new Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.